Candle novelty



1966 P. J. FRAZIER, JR 3,286,492

CANDLE NOVELTY Filed March 15, 1965 PreJfan J. Franz/er, z/r'.

INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,286,492 CANDLE NOVELTY Preston J. Frazier, Jr., Houston, Tex., assignor to Faroy, Inc., a corporation of Texas Filed Mar. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 439,758 6 Claims. (Cl. 6721) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in candle novelties.

An object of this invention is to provide a new and improved candle novelty which has a message or other indicia so positioned that it is invisible prior to lighting the candle but which becomes visible after the candle has been lit.

An important object of this invention is to provide a new and improve-d candle novelty wherein a votive candle is disposed in a translucent holder with a film therebetween, such film having a transparent message or other configurations thereon which is hidden between the holder and the candle until after the candle 'has been lit for a sufficient length of time to become liquefied.

The preferred embodiment of-this invention will be described hereinafter, together with other features thereof, and additional objects will become evident from such description.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, illustrating the preferred embodiment of this invention prior to the lighting of the candle thereof; I

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the candle novelty of this invention; and

FIG. 3 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section, illustrating the present invention after the candle has been lit and the paraflin thereof has become liquified to reveal the message or other configuration through the translucent holder of this invention.

In the drawings, the letter A designates generally the candle novelty of this invention. Such candle novelty A includes a holder H in which is disposed a candle C. As will be more fully explained, a strip F is confine-d between the candle C and the holder H. The holder H has a wall which is formed of a translucent material so that the strip is hidden from view prior to lighting the candle C. However, as will be explained, after the candle C has been lit, the parafiin or other material forming the candle C melts and becomes liquefied so that the light from the burning wick of the candle C shows through transparent configurations of the strip F and through the translucent wall 10 of the holder H to reveal a message or other configuration such as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Considering the invention more in detail, the holder H is preferably formed with a wall 10 which is cylindrical in shape and which is formed integrally with, or connected to, a bottom circular section 11. Under normal conditions, the entire holder H is molded or otherwise formed as a unit from a translucent material. However, the bottom 11 may be formed of a different material from the wall 10, if desired. The holder H may be made of any material which is substantially rigid, translucent, and capable of withstanding the heat developed when the wick of the candle C is burning and the material of the candle C has become liquefied. Preferably, thermosetting resins or plastics such as phenol formaldehyde, urea formaldehyde, and the silicone resins, or any other translucent material such as etched glass is used for the holder H.

The candle C may be formed of any type of candle wax or paraifin which is capable of being liquefied by the heat produced from the burning of the candle wick 12. Therefore, it is preferable to have a candle wax or paraffin which has a melting point of around F. Such melting point is given by way of example only since higher melting point waxes may be used, with the upper melting point temperature being about F. In the preferred form of the invention, the candle wax or parafiin melts at about 129 F. so that it liquefies within a matter of five to ten minutes or less, the purpose of which will be more evident hereinafter.

The wick 12 is of conventional wick material such as cotton and it is preferably held in place by a metallic support 14 having a base 14a and a sleeve 14b extending upwardly therefrom. The lower end 12a of the wick 12 is disposed below the metal base 14a as shown in FIG. 1 when the candle C is positioned within the holder H. Such support 14 serves to maintain the wick 12 in its central position as shown in FIG. 3 even after the wax or parafiin of the body of the candle C has liquefied as shown in FIG. 3.

The strip F is preferably a photographic film in negative form which is capable of withstanding the heat from the liquefied candle C and the flame on the wick 12. For example, the strip F is preferably made from a polyester base film sold under the trademark Kronar by Du Pont and also sol-d under the trademark Estar by Kodak Company. Such polyester base film is substantially non-shrinking during development and it is substantially non-curling when exposed to the heat from the liquefied candle C and the flame on the wick 12.

The film F is made with a message of words or other configurations such as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the drawings and designated with the letterW. Such words or configurations are transparent whereas the rest of the film is opaque or translucent so that the flame 20 from the candle C provides light which is transmitted through the candle C in the liquefied state to reveal the Words or other. configuration W to viewer externally of the holder H. Such transmission is illustrated in FIG. 3 where the words W are shown as visible through the translucent holder H. However, since the holder H is translucent, such words or other transparent configurations W are not visible through the holder H prior to the liquefying of the candle C.

In order to provide various colors for the words or other transparent configurations W, a thin coating of a high temperature resistant dye for photographic film is preferably applied on the inside surface of the strip of film P so that the light is transmitted through the color of the dye and therefore such color is visible when the words or other configuration W become visible from the external side of the holder H.

The film F may be formed in a circular ring or it may be'formed as a strip which is curled into a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 2, with the ends bonded or otherwise adhered together with a suitable adhesive. The strip S is confined between the candle C and the holder H so that it is substantially invisible to a person so long as the wax or paraffin of the candle C is in the solid state as shown in FIG. 1.

In the use of the candle novelty of this invention, the strip of film F normally has a message such as a fortune reading formed thereon by the words or configurations W. Therefore, when the wick 12 is lit and has burned for a suflicient length of time to liquefy the wax or paraffin of the candle C, such words or other configurations W become visible through the outside of the holder H, so that a person may then see his fortune, message, de-

sign, or the like, in visible form while the candle is burn- When the fiame 20 of the candle C is put out, the wax or paraffin of the candle C will again solidify and render the film F invisible for subsequent use. This may be repeated so long as the wax or paraffin of the candle C is at a sufiicient level and the rest of the candle novelty A remains substantially undamaged.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction, may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a bottom and a wall extending upwardly therefrom,

(b) said wall being formed of a translucent material which prevents a viewing of the contents of the holder until a candle therein creates a light within the holder,

(c) a candle disposed in said holder and being formed of a material which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

(d) a non-metallic flexible strip disposed between the candle and the wall of the holder and shaped to conform to the inner surface of the wall of the holder, and

(e) said strip being hidden by the wall of said holder prior to lighting said candle and having transparent portions through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the configuration of the transparent portions through the translucent wall of the holder.

2. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a bottom and a wall extending upwardly therefrom,

(b) said wall being formed of a translucent material,

() a candle disposed in said holder and being formed of a material which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

((1) a strip of photographic film disposed between the candle and the wall of the holder, and

(e) said strip of photographic film having transparent portions through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the configuration of the transparent portions through the translucent wall of the holder.

3. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom in one end thereof,

(b) said cylindrical Wall being formed of a translucent material,

(c) a candle having a cylindrical external surface of a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the cylinder wall of the holder and being formed of a material which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

(d) a strip of photographic film confined between the cylindrical external surface of the candle and the inside surface of the cylindrical wall, and

(e) said film having transparent configurations through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the configurations through the translucent wall of the holder.

4. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom in one end thereof,

(b) said holder being formed of a translucent material,

(c) a candle having a cylindrical external surface of a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the cylinder wall of the holder and being formed of a material which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

(d) a strip of photographic film confined between the cylindrical external surface of the candle and the inside surface of the cylindrical wall, and

(e) said film having transparent configurations through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the configurations throughout the translucent wall of the holder.

5. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom in one end thereof,

(b) said cylindrical wall being formed of a translucent material,

(c) a candle having a cylindrical external surface of a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the cylinder wall of the holder and being formed of a low melting-point parafiin which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

(d) a strip of photographic film confined between the cylindrical external surface of the candle and the inside surface of the cylindhical wall, and

(c) said film having'transparent configurations through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the configurations through the translucent wall of the holder.

6. A candle novelty, comprising:

(a) a holder having a cylindrical wall and a bottom in one end thereof,

(b) said cylindrical Wall being formed of a translucent material,

(c) a candle having a cylindrical external surfaces of a diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the cylinder wall of the holder and being formed of a low melting-point paraffin which liquefies from the heat produced by the candle when the wick thereof is lit,

(d) a strip of photographic film confined between the cylindrical external surface of the candle and the inside surface of the cylindrical wall, and

(e) said film having transparent configurations with a coating of heat resistant dye thereon through which light from the burning candle wick is transmitted after the candle is liquefied to reveal the confiurations through the translucent wall of the holder.

5 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS CHARLES J. MYHRE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CANDLE NOVELTY, COMPRISING: (A) A HOLDER HAVING A BOTTOM AND A WALL EXTENDING UPWARDLY THEREFROM, (B) SAID WALL BEING FORMED OF A TRANSLUCENT MATERIAL WHICH PREVENTS A VIEWING OF THE CONTENTS OF THE HOLDER UNTIL A CANDLE THEREIN CREATES A LIGHT WITHIN THE HOLDER, (C) A CANDLE DISPOSED IN SAID HOLDER AND BEING FORMED OF A MATERIAL WHICH LIQUEFIES FROM THE HEAT PRODUCED BY THE CANDLE WHEN THE WICK THEREOF IS LIT, (D) A NON-METALLIC FLEXIBLE STRIP DISPOSED BETWEEN THE CANDLE AND THE WALL OF THE HOLDER AND SHAPED TO CONFORM TO THE INNER SURFACE OF THE WALL OF THE HOLDER, AND (E) SAID STRIP BEING HIDDEN BY THE WALL OF SAID HOLDER PRIOR TO LIGHTING SAID CANDLE AND HAVING TRANSPARENT PORTIONS THROUGH WHICH LIGHT FROM THE BURNING CANDLE WICK IS TRANSMITTED AFTER THE CANDLE IS LIQUEFIED TO REVEAL THE CONFIGURATION OF THE TRANSPARENT PORTIONS THROUGH THE TRANSLUCENT WALL OF THE HOLDER. 